Acceptable use policy

This acceptable use policy sets out the terms between you and us under which you
may access our website www.smi-online.co.uk. This acceptable use policy applies
to all users of, and visitors to, our site.

Your use of our site means that you accept, and agree to abide by, all the policies
in this acceptable use policy, which supplement our
terms of website use.

Prohibited uses

You may use our site only for lawful purposes. You may not use our site:

In any way that breaches any applicable local, national or international law or
regulation.

In any way that is unlawful or fraudulent, or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose
or effect.

For the purpose of harming or attempting to harm minors in any way.

To send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use or re-use any material which does
not comply with our content standards below.

To transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising
or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam).

To knowingly transmit any data, send or upload any material that contains viruses,
Trojan horses, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or any other
harmful programs or similar computer code designed to adversely affect the operation
of any computer software or hardware.

You also agree:

Not to reproduce, duplicate, copy or re-sell any part of our site in contravention
of the provisions of our terms of website use.

Not to access without authority, interfere with, damage or disrupt:

any part of our site;

any equipment or network on which our site is stored;

any software used in the provision of our site; or

any equipment or network or software owned or used by any third party.

Interactive services

We may from time to time provide interactive services on our site, including, without
limitation:

Chat rooms.

Bulletin boards.

Event Communities

Documentation Portal

Where we do provide any interactive service, we will provide clear information to
you about the kind of service offered, if it is moderated and what form of moderation
is used (including whether it is human or technical).

We will do our best to assess any possible risks for users from third parties when
they use any interactive service provided on our site, and we will decide in each
case whether it is appropriate to use moderation of the relevant service (including
what kind of moderation to use) in the light of those risks. However, we are under
no obligation to oversee, monitor or moderate any interactive service we provide
on our site, and we expressly exclude our liability for any loss or damage arising
from the use of any interactive service by a user in contravention of our content
standards, whether the service is moderated or not.

Where we do moderate an interactive service, we will normally provide you with a
means of contacting the moderator, should a concern or difficulty arise.

Content standards

These content standards apply to any and all material which you contribute to our
site or interactive services (contributions), and to any interactive services associated
with it.

You must comply with the spirit of the following standards as well as the letter.
The standards apply to each part of any contribution as well as to its whole.

Contributions must not:

Contain any material which is defamatory of any person, obscene, offensive, hateful,
sexually explicit or inflammatory.

Infringe any copyright, database, trademark or right of any other person.

Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual
duty or a duty of confidence.

Be threatening, likely to harass, upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person.

Be used to impersonate any person, or to misrepresent your identity or affiliation
with any person.

Give the impression that they emanate from SMi, if this is not the case.

Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright
infringement or computer misuse.

Suspension and termination

We will determine, in our discretion, whether there has been a breach of this acceptable
use policy through your use of our site. When a breach of this policy has occurred,
we may take such action as we deem appropriate.

Failure to comply with this acceptable use policy constitutes a material breach
of the terms of use upon which you are
permitted to use our site, and may result in our taking all or any of the following
actions:

Immediate, temporary or permanent withdrawal of your right to use our site.

Immediate, temporary or permanent removal of any posting or material uploaded by
you to our site.

Issue of a warning to you.

Legal proceedings against you for reimbursement of all costs on an indemnity basis
(including, but not limited to, reasonable administrative and legal costs) resulting
from the breach.

Further legal action against you.

Disclosure of such information to law enforcement authorities as we reasonably feel
is necessary.

We exclude liability for actions taken in response to breaches of this acceptable
use policy. The responses described in this policy are not limited, and we may take
any other action we reasonably deem appropriate.

Changes to the acceptable use policy

We may revise this acceptable use policy at any time by amending this page. You
are expected to check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes
we make, as they are legally binding on you. Some of the provisions contained in
this acceptable use policy may also be superseded by provisions or notices published
elsewhere on our site.

Cookie Policy

From May 2011 a new privacy law came into effect across the EU. The law requires
that websites ask visitors for consent to use most web cookies. We use cookies to
ensure you get the best experience on our website –Tick here to accept cookie use
Details of our cookie use may be found here.

WHAT IS CPD?

CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development’. It is essentially a philosophy,
which maintains that in order to be effective, learning should be organised and
structured. The most common definition is:

‘A commitment to structured skills and knowledge enhancement for Personal or Professional
competence’

CPD is a common requirement of individual membership with professional bodies and
Institutes. Increasingly, employers also expect their staff to undertake regular
CPD activities.

Undertaken over a period of time, CPD ensures that educational qualifications do
not become obsolete, and allows for best practice and professional standards to
be upheld.

CPD can be undertaken through a variety of learning activities including instructor
led training courses, seminars and conferences, e:learning modules or structured
reading.

CPD AND PROFESSIONAL INSTITUTES

There are approximately 470 institutes in the UK across all industry sectors, with
a collective membership of circa 4 million professionals, and they all expect their
members to undertake CPD.

For some institutes undertaking CPD is mandatory e.g. accountancy and law, and linked
to a licence to practice, for others it’s obligatory. By ensuring that their members
undertake CPD, the professional bodies seek to ensure that professional standards,
legislative awareness and ethical practices are maintained.

CPD Schemes often run over the period of a year and the institutes generally provide
online tools for their members to record and reflect on their CPD activities.

TYPICAL CPD SCHEMES AND RECORDING OF CPD (CPD points and hours)

Professional bodies and Institutes CPD schemes are either structured as ‘Input’
or ‘Output’ based.

‘Input’ based schemes list a precise number of CPD hours that individuals must achieve
within a given time period. These schemes can also use different ‘currencies’ such
as points, merits, units or credits, where an individual must accumulate the number
required. These currencies are usually based on time i.e. 1 CPD point = 1 hour of
learning.

‘Output’ based schemes are learner centred. They require individuals to set learning
goals that align to professional competencies, or personal development objectives.
These schemes also list different ways to achieve the learning goals e.g. training
courses, seminars or e:learning, which enables an individual to complete their CPD
through their preferred mode of learning.

As a formal provider of CPD certified activities, SMI Group can provide an indication
of the learning benefit gained and the typical completion. However, it is ultimately
the responsibility of the delegate to evaluate their learning, and record it correctly
in line with their professional body’s or employers requirements.

GLOBAL CPD

Increasingly, international and emerging markets are ‘professionalising’ their workforces
and looking to the UK to benchmark educational standards. The undertaking of CPD
is now increasingly expected of any individual employed within today’s global marketplace.

CPD Certificates

We can provide a certificate for all our accredited events. To request a CPD certificate for a conference , workshop, master classes you have attended please email events@smi-online.co.uk